(Photo: Yuri G. for Unsplash)
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The pandemic has forced many to question themselves, as is the case for the MSB Group, which specializes in components for business aircraft interiors.
This subsidiary of the French company Sogeclair took advantage of the COVID-19 crisis, which severely affected the aeronautics industry, to launch a diversification strategy in order to conquer new markets.
“The crisis hurt. We have seen a 30-35% drop in our turnover, said Mario Sévigny, co-founder and executive vice-president of the MSB Group in an interview with Deals. But the pandemic has given us the time to reflect and step out of our production-related tasks to develop our vision. ”
This new approach means no longer just focusing on fitting out the interiors of new business jets, but tackling the market for aircraft already in service that need to be modernized.
“Just at Bombardier, it’s thousands of planes,” says Mr. Sévigny. The manufacturer, whose heart is in Boucherville, also wishes to embark on the interior refurbishment of small-scale commercial aircraft.
To do this, it announces this Tuesday an investment of $ 2.7 million which will allow it to buy the necessary machines and technology and to hire at least fifteen new employees.
“We will be able to manufacture sheet metal parts, machined parts and cut composite materials which will be faster and more efficient,” explains Mario Sévigny.
His company designs and manufactures, among other things, installations for kitchen areas and toilets, compartments for hand luggage and dividers between the different sections of the aircraft.
“We will gain in agility, shorten lead times and better meet market needs,” he adds. These three points are important, because in the field of repair, it is necessary to deliver the components more quickly.
Work previously granted elsewhere will thus be done internally, but “we will not replace subcontractors from here,” said the head of MSB.
Among the funds announced Tuesday, $ 1.5 million comes from a loan from the Quebec government with the ESSOR program, managed by Investissement Quebec. The federal government will also lend $ 500,000.
Business aviation resumption
Even though MSB’s revenues plummeted last year, the company can count on the resumption of business jets, which is gaining height well ahead of commercial aircraft.
“The leaders of multinationals have started to travel again, as have the rich and famous,” says Mario Sévigny. He is therefore optimistic even though he estimates that his income this year will be $ 45 million instead of the $ 60 million previously forecast.
This confidence is due in particular to talks with Bombardier with a view to possible contracts to revamp the interiors of many jets.
“If we could add a 30% to the turnover with the field of aircraft in service, I would be extremely happy.”
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